Payback
by Jehannish
Summary: In which Eponine is clever, Montparnasse gets what he deserves, and Gueulemer is a pawn in a diabolical plot. Rated T for language and blood.


A/N: I've been working on this story for months now, FINALLY I'm publishing it. By the way, don't get me wrong. I love Montparnasse. He's one of my favorite characters. But man, can that boy be MEAN!!! I wrote this up because Eponine deserves a chance to take revenge for once.

"Bitch! Have you had enough?! Are you in pain yet?!"

Eponine nods, breathing through her teeth (or the few teeth she has) so she doesn't scream. This is the worst beating Montparnasse has ever given her, and his drunken state doesn't help.

Finally he stops and pulls back to look at Eponine, smirking.

"Whore," Montparnasse spits at her and walks away without another word.

Eponine lies there on the cold pavement of the alley, hardly able to breathe and bleeding. As usual, the pain comes in waves, colossal tidal waves of wrenching agony. But something besides pain is in those waves tonight- anger. Eponine has never been beaten like this before, never this badly, and tonight something finally snaps. And that's when Eponine swears to herself that she will get revenge.

Eponine knows the Patron-Minette quite well, as her father has sold her to most of them at least once. She knows that the most wize of this band of criminals is Brujon, and that Claquesous is the most mysterious. Eponine also knows that Gueulemer is the strongest- and the most tempramental.

A few evenings after her beating she finds Gueulemer's flat, during a robbery when she knows he isn't home. Eponine picks the lock silently and opens the door.

After a few minutes of rummaging she finds what she is looking for- Gueulemer's coin purse. Opening it, she slides her hand in and pulls out a single sou. Smiling, Eponine slips it into her pocket and leaves the flat, carefully locking the door behind her.

She hurries to Montparnasse's flat before he arrives at it from the robbery, knowing she will get quite a beating if he discovers her there. The door is unlocked, and Eponine slips inside.

Eponine finds Montparnasse's change purse faster than she had found Gueulemer's. She grabs the sou from her pocket and quickly drops it into the purse.

Eponine continues doing this every night for weeks: taking just one coin or small item from Gueulemer's purse, putting it in Montparnasse's. One evening as she reaches her hand into Gueulemer's bag, she finds something particularly special- a broken gold pocketwatch engraved with his name. The watch is too shiny to be real gold, but it looks relatively valuable. And more importantly, very recognizable. _Perfect,_ Eponine thinks as she drops the watch into her pocket.

The moment she has been waiting for finally occurs a few nights later. Gueulemer and Montparnasse had decided to go out for a drink together after a particularly successful robbery. Hidden in one tiny corner of the bar the two men had chosen, Eponine watches the scene unfold.

"You pay!"

"No, mate! You pay!"

She can hear their drunken voices ring openly across the bar.

"Alright, fine. I'll pay." Montparnasse concedes, his words slurring together as he speaks. He pulls his purse from his pocket and empties it onto the table. Along with the coins and small items one would normally find in a purse, a small gold pocketwatch also lands on the table.

Gueulemer's eyes widen. "My watch!" He snatches it quickly off the table. Montparnasse is staring, incredulous. Eponine can practically feel his heart pounding, dreading the moment when Gueulemer will figure out what's going on...

"You've stolen it! and you must've been stealing my money, too!"

"I- I- No, I haven't-" Montparnasse stammers.

"Then why has my purse been getting lighter and lighter in the last few weeks while yours is clearly getting heavier?!"

"Er-" Eponine can tell that Montparnasse wishes for once he had less money.

"You son of a bitch." Gueulemer drags Montparnasse from the table and out of the bar. Silently but excitedly, Eponine follows.

The two men disappear into an alley. For a monment Eponine considers trailing them into it, but decides against it. After all, it would simply be too dangerous.

And she can still hear Montparnasse scream in pain from a good distance away.

_Revenge, _Eponine decides, _is very, very sweet._

A/N (again!)- Bwa ha ha ha ! Gotta love that ending. God, that was fun to write. Please review, it makes me happy inside. :)

Jehannish, 2008


End file.
